April Fools' Day Event 2011
The April Fools' Day Event 2011, known as Welcome to Meowbook, was a Gaia Online event. Overview When signing onto the site Gaians were redirected to the 'My Gaia' page, there they were greeted with a blue themed page and cat heads occupying their friends thumbnail box. In the 'My Stats' box their own avatar was also seen with a cat head. The event header also contained various cat heads and the clickable logo brought to you by Meowbook. Within the header was a tabby striped Wing Sticker and flying around the screen was a Item:Pink Magical Giftbox, upon clicking these links Gaians would receive event items. Event timeline * Mar 31 - Staff journal entries about Meowbook. * Apr 01 - Announcement of event * Apr 01 - Mini comic - Mew Mew (Mew Meow Mwee!) is released. * Apr 02 - Cat themed features are disabled. * Apr 04 - Event ended Event conclusion The event concluded on April 3, by then the cat-themed features had been disabled as to not make things distracting. Event Items * * * Gallery AprilFools2k11_whatshotmodule_homepage_thumb.jpg|Module thumbnail AprilFools2k11_whatshotmodule_homepage_bkgd.jpg|Module promo AprilFools2k11_wing_sticker_header-tabby-orange.png|Wing Sticker AprilFools2k11_meowbook_header2.png|Meowbook header AprilFools2k11_ChairmanMeow.jpg|Chairman Meow AprilFools2k11_signup_button.jpg|Sign-Up button AprilFools2k11_MyGaia2.jpg|MyGaia - MeowBook AprilFools2k11_QTD.jpg|Example of a Gaians with cat heads AprilFools2k11_received_jeans.jpg|Received by clicking Pink Giftbox AprilFools2k11_received_premiumcatfeast.jpg|Received by signing up for Meowbook File:Puking Avatar on Gaiaonline|Video of 'Premium Cat Feast' in action. Additional info Site feedback Due to April Fools' Day on Gaia being a mix of positive and negative reactions in general, Meowbook received a similar reaction; the positive being that the prank was more obvious compared to previous years and since Gaians usually criticize Gaia Online for trying to be Facebook (or even associating with it) the theme had impact. Some users had an issue with the cat heads covering avatars or the motif and wanted an option to opt-out. There was a controversy when it came to the function of the word filter altering "God" to being "Bastet" (feline goddess of Ancient Egyptian religion). Users who brought up the matter found it to be censorship or insulting to one's religion. The use of the filter was also said to be intrusive, even though a setting change would have rendered the cat themed text back to default. With the cat heads bringing amusement to those who enjoyed the event, users tried to match their random cat head with their avatar. The emotes were also well received, this spurred fan request to keep them.Emoticon#Cats The event was complimented for being well put together and clever. Criticism by those who did not enjoy the event said it was poorly put together and less believable as a joke than in previous years, and although the items were liked for the event they were considered minor in comparison to other event items. Trivia * The theme of the event is clearly a parody on , a social website.Official Site: Facebook * A day before the event some of the Gaia staff made journal entries stating that they were leaving Gaia Online due to the Meowbook buyout. * Some users claimed they would often hear meowing sounds when they submitted their replies to a thread. * There was a total of 48 different cat heads used for the event. ** The 'Cat Faces' item was obtainable via dumpster diving. * There were emotes redone to look like cat heads. These eventually became official for use. * The event's mini comic, "Mew Mew (Mew Meow Mwee!)", is rather random and consist of onomatopoeia. * On March 31 a Gaian was able to screen cap an explosion in Map:Port of Gambino, however it was speculation if it was for April Fools or Easter. References External links * Landing page - http://www.gaiaonline.com/meowbook/ * Landing page - http://www.gaiaonline.com/mygaia/ Announcement forum * * * * Other * Profile - http://www.gaiaonline.com/p/30265723/ Meowbook * Journal ethe Thu Mar 31, 2011 @ 08:55pm * Journal Derlaine Thu Mar 31, 2011 @ 08:56pm * Journal reapersun Thu Mar 31, 2011 @ 09:00pm * Journal pepper-tea Thu Mar 31, 2011 @ 09:37pm * Journal Narumi Misuhara Fri Apr 01, 2011 @ 12:41am Staff notices * Category:April Fools' Day Event Category:Controversy